Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian

public research university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

based in

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...

, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having been most ...

, Prime Minister of Australia from 1941 to 1945, and is Western Australia's largest university, with students in . WAIT was established in 1966. Curtin was conferred university status after the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parl ...

passed legislation in 1986. Since then, the university has expanded its presence and has campuses in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

and

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, and has ties with 90 exchange universities in 20 countries. The university comprises five main faculties with over 95 specialists centres. It had a campus in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

from 2005 to 2016. Curtin University is a member of the Australian Technology Network. Curtin is active in research in a range of academic and practical fields. As of 2020, it is Western Australia's only university whose students have won the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering's Postgraduate Student Gold Medal.

History

Curtin University was founded in 1966 as the Western Australian Institute of Technology. The four people who drove its establishment were Lesley Phillips, who was Superintendent of Technical Education from 1943 to 1948; George Hayman, who held the same position from 1948 to 1962; T. L. Robertson, Director of Education; and Haydn Williams, Director of Technical Education. Its nucleus comprised the tertiary programs of the Perth Technical College, which opened in 1900. The university's Bentley campus was selected in 1962 and officially opened in 1966. The first students enrolled in 1967. Haydn Williams was the first director of WAIT. In 1969, three more institutions were merged with WAIT: the Kalgoorlie School of Mines (opened in 1902), the Muresk Agricultural College (opened in 1926), and the Schools of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy (in operation since the 1950s at Shenton Park). Between 1966 and 1976 WAIT experienced an expansion from 2,000 to 10,000 students. In December 1986 WAIT was made a university, under provisions of the ''WA Institute of Technology Amendment Act 1986''. Curtin University took its name from former Prime Minister of Australia

. In 1987, Curtin University of Technology became Western Australia's third university and Australia's first university of technology. By the mid-1990s, it had enrolments of 20,000 students, making it one of Australia's largest universities. In 1993, Curtin founded a graduate business school in

St Georges Terrace St Georges Terrace (colloquially known as "The Terrace") is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial thoroughfare through the central business district. Its ...

. In 2002 it was moved to Murray Street, where it remains. The school was developed on the foundation of Curtin's existing

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

program. In 2005, Curtin and

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

were engaged in a feasibility study into the possibility of a merger. On 7 November 2005, the institutions announced that a merger would not be undertaken. In 2008, Curtin opened a campus in Singapore, its second offshore presence. In 2009, Curtin became the first university in the Australian Technology Network to be listed on the Academic Ranking of World Universities of research universities. In 2010, Curtin dropped the "of Technology" suffix, from then operating as "Curtin University".

Campuses and buildings

Curtin University bus entrance from front

Perth and regional WA

Curtin University's main campus is in

Bentley, Western Australia Bentley is a southern suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, southeast of Perth's central business district. Its local government areas are the City of Canning and the Town of Victoria Park. Bentley is home to the main campu ...

, about south-east of the

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

central business district. The campus was developed on a former pine plantation established in the 1930s. Curtin has multiple smaller off-site campuses in the Perth metropolitan area. The Graduate School of Business building is in the

Perth central business district Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in the renovated former Government Printing Office, and the law school is on Murray Street in the old Public Health Department and Chief Secretary's building, a listed building on the State Register of Heritage Places. In 2016, Curtin entered into an agreement with the National Trust of Australia (WA) to use the restored Old Perth Boys' School at 139 St Georges Terrace for community and industry engagement. In 2018, Curtin renovated the original Perth Technical College building at 137 St Georges Terrace to create meeting rooms and learning spaces for professional development and postgraduate courses. Exploration Geophysics and

Petroleum Engineering Petroleum engineering is a field of engineering concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas or both. Exploration and production are deemed to fall within the ''upstrea ...

are at the co-location research facilities of the Australian Resources Research Centre (ARRC), which also houses offices of

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

Earth Science and Resource Engineering and National Measurement Institute. The ARRC is in the Technology Park Bentley, adjacent to the main Bentley campus. Some university staff, researchers and students on practicum work in other locations, such as the Oral Health Centre of WA (OHCWA) in Nedlands and at Royal Perth Hospital, amongst other organisations. Curtin has two

bus stations A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

, connected to the

Transperth Transperth is the public transport system for Perth and surrounding areas in Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation, and consists of train, bus and ferry services. Bus operat ...

public transport network. The stations are also linked to the

Mandurah railway line The Mandurah line, also known as the Southern Suburbs Railway, is a suburban railway line and service in Western Australia, linking Perth's central business district (CBD) with Mandurah to the south. Operated by the Public Transport Authority ...

's Canning Bridge Station by a shuttle bus service. Curtin also has an internal bus network trialling autonomous buses on campus. Curtin has campuses outside

, the largest being the Western Australian School of Mines at

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

, and a number of micro-campuses in Esperance,

Margaret River The Margaret River is a river in southwest Australia, southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River, Western Australia, Margaret River. The river arises from a catchment ...

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldt ...

, and elsewhere. Nursing is the only course offered in Geraldton. The Muresk Institute at Northam left Curtin in 2012.

Hayman Theatre

The Hayman Theatre was established in 1973 as Hayman Hall, for the use of theatre arts students. The Hall's name derives from George Hayman, who played a major part in establishing WAIT in 1967. The theatre study company Theatreground as well as the

Western Australian Theatre Company The Playhouse Theatre was a theatre in central Perth, Western Australia. It was purpose-built for live theatre in 1956 and remained one of the city's principal venues for performing arts for over half a century until replaced by the State Thea ...

used the space. It was refurbished in 1977, creating the Theatre Upstairs above the main stage. After the Bentley Campus was expanded, in 2017 Hayman Theatre moved to Building 302.

Dubai campus

In April 2017 Curtin University established its newest campus in

Dubai International Academic City Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), informally known as Academic City, is a university town in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates along the Dubai-Al Ain Road. The project was launched in May 2006 in liaison with Dubai Knowledge Park. ...

. Australian Ambassador to the UAE HE Arthur Spyrou officially opened the campus on 10 September 2017. Curtin University Dubai courses use the same structure and unit curriculum as those at the Bentley campus. Curtin University Dubai is accredited by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). The academic qualifications Curtin grants are certified by KHDA and recognised in the Emirate of

by all public and private entities.

Malaysia campus

Curtin's largest international campus is in

Miri Miri () is a coastal city in north-eastern Sarawak, Malaysia, located near the border of Brunei, on the island of Borneo. The city covers an area of , located northeast of Kuching and southwest of Kota Kinabalu. Miri is the second largest ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

, Malaysia. Curtin's operations in Miri began in February 1999. In 2002, a purpose-built campus was opened as Curtin's first offshore campus and the first foreign university campus in East Malaysia. It has around 4,000 students from over 45 countries, and academics from more than 15 countries. Curtin Malaysia is the only approved

CISCO Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...

Networking University in Miri and Brunei.

Singapore campus

Curtin University opened a Singapore-based campus on 23 November 2008. Curtin Singapore courses use the same structure and unit curriculum as those at the Bentley campus. In 2022, Curtin Singapore moved to a new campus located at 10 Science Park Road, The Alpha, Science Park II.

Mauritius campus

Curtin University opened its fourth international campus in Mauritius on 3 May 2018 on the campus of Charles Telfair Institute in Moka south of

Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...

Former Sydney campus (2005–2016)

Curtin University Sydney (Curtin Sydney) was established on 20 June 2005. The first campus was in The Rocks area. It later moved to the suburb of Chippendale, where it occupied the Berlei Building. Curtin Sydney's operation was contracted out to private tertiary education provider Navitas Group. It offered international students diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In 2014 Curtin Sydney was involved in a cash-for-results scandal where students since 2012 had paid MyMaster, a Sydney company, up to $1,000 each to write essays and assignments for them, as well as to sit online tests. In 2015, Curtin announced that Curtin Sydney would close in 2017.

Governance and structure

Faculties and departments

From 2007, the university's teaching and research was divided into five faculties (previously known as divisions), which each include a number of schools. These schools were consolidated in 2020 during a period of staff cuts. These are: * Centre for Aboriginal Studies * Faculty of Business and Law ** School of Accounting, Economics and Finance ** School of Management and Marketing ** Curtin Law School * Faculty of Health Sciences ** Curtin Medical School **Curtin School of Allied Health **Curtin School of Nursing **Curtin School of Population Health * Faculty of Humanities ** School of Design and the Built Environment ** School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry ** School of Education * Faculty of Science and Engineering ** School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering ** School of Earth and Planetary Sciences ** School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences ** School of Molecular and Life Sciences ** Western Australian School of Mines: Minerals and Energy Engineering

Libraries and collections

The main library building is the TL Robertson Library, on the Bentley campus. It opened in 1972. After the building was extended in the 1990s, the university began a major refurbishment in 2021, due for completion in 2023. Also on the Bentley campus is the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, holding a large collection of papers relating to John Curtin as well as other special collections, including the papers of political figures John Dawkins, Geoff Gallop, Hazel Hawke, and Carmen Lawrence, and Curtin academics Mike Daube (tobacco control) and Jules Black (sexology).

John Curtin Gallery

The John Curtin Gallery (JCG) is on the Bentley campus, in building 200A. It has a focus on

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

, learning and research.

Academic profile

The university is one of the partners in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study, one of the largest cohorts of pregnancy, childhood, adolescence and early adulthood to be carried out anywhere in the world. Curtin's Creative Writing staff and alumni have won the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the Will (law), will of Miles Franklin ...

seven times.

Academic reputation

In the 2024 ''Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities'', which measures aggregate performance across the QS, THE and ARWU rankings, the university attained a position of #191 (11th nationally). ; National publications In the ''Australian Financial Review'' Best Universities Ranking 2024, the university was ranked #26 amongst Australian universities. ; Global publications In the 2025 ''

Quacquarelli Symonds Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a higher education analyst and a for-profit services provider headquartered in London with offices in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. History The company was founded by Nunzio Quacquarelli in 1990 to provide informati ...

World University Rankings College and university rankings order higher education institutions based on various criteria, with factors differing depending on the specific ranking system. These rankings can be conducted at the national or international level, assessing inst ...

(published 2024), the university attained a position of #174 (13th nationally). In the ''Times Higher Education'' World University Rankings 2025 (published 2024), the university attained a position of #251–300 (tied 14–19th nationally). In the 2024 ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'', the university attained a position of #201–300 (tied 9–15th nationally). In the 2025–2026 ''U.S. News & World Report'' Best Global Universities, the university attained a position of #152 (10th nationally). In the ''CWTS Leiden Ranking'' 2024, the university attained a position of #280 (12th nationally).

Student outcomes

The Australian Government's QILT conducts national surveys documenting the student life cycle from enrolment through to employment. These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts. In the 2023 Employer Satisfaction Survey, graduates of the university had an overall employer satisfaction rate of 90.1%. In the 2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey, graduates of the university had a full-time employment rate of 80.9% for undergraduates and 87.9% for postgraduates. The initial full-time salary was for undergraduates and for postgraduates. In the 2023 Student Experience Survey, undergraduates at the university rated the quality of their entire educational experience at 77.4% meanwhile postgraduates rated their overall education experience at 75.5%.

Affiliations and partnerships

In 2022, the university formed an international university alliance with the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

in Scotland, United Kingdom and

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

in Alberta, Canada to address global challenges together. The alliance provides joint research centres, collaborative academic programs, industry linkage, and student and staff mobility exchanges. Curtin is also a member of the Australian Technology Network.

Student life

Student union

The Curtin Student Guild is the

student union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

at Curtin University. It was founded in 1969 as the WAIT Student Guild. The guild provides student representation services through the provision of faculty, international, postgraduate and equity representatives and the professional support service Student Assist. The guild operates most food and beverage outlets on campus, including Guild Cafés (Central, Engineering, Library), Angazi, Concept Coffee Co and Mallokup food outlets. Other commercial services include G-Mart, Curtin University's

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

, printing, stationery and news outlet and The Tav. The guild operates and funds all Curtin student clubs and societies. It also runs a number of events throughout the year, most notably the Toga Party held in semester one and the previous notable event Grasslands Music Festival held in semester two. The guild publishes ''Grok'' magazine. The Student Guild is governed independently of the University by students through the Guild Council, which consists of executive members: president, vice-presidents, secretary and councillors. All other representatives sit on the Representation Board. Students elect their representatives annually in September. Major Groups that contest elections include Illuminate, consisting of broadly

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

Independent students; Left Action, aligned with Socialist Alternative; groups aligned with the

Labor Right The Labor Right (LR), also known as Labor Forum, Labor Unity or simply Unity, is one of the two major political factions within the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It is nationally characterised by social democratic to Third Way economic policies ...

; and Joke Ticket's, from various political leanings. The Guild currently has an Illuminate majority.

Sports and athletics

Basketball

As of 2023, Curtin University's basketball teams, the Carnabys, play in the University Basketball League (UBL).

Soccer

The men's team of the Curtin University Football Club is based on the main campus. The club currently (

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

) competes in the

Football West State League Division 2 The Football West State League is a regional Australian semi-professional soccer league comprising teams from Western Australia consisting of two divisions. The league sits at Levels 2 and 3 on the Western Australian league system (Levels 3 a ...

. The Curtin University FC women's team were one of the inaugural teams in the National Premier Leagues WA Women competition (which commenced in 2020), and is a part of the National Premier Leagues Women's structure. The team was previously part of the Women State League Division 1 from (at least) 2012 to 2019.

Student accommodation

Curtin University offers on campus accommodation at five separate precincts, managed by UniLodge: Kurrajong Village, Erica Underwood House, Guild House, Vickery House and St Catherine's College.

Notable people

Notable alumni

Notable people who have attended Curtin University include:

Humanities

* Mouza Sulaiman Mohamed Al-Wardi, museum curator, Director of the Collections Department at the National Museum (Oman) * James Angus, sculptor * Ain Bandial, Bruneian journalist and editor * Natalie Barr, news presenter on

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

Carrie Bickmore Carrie Bickmore (born 3 December 1980) is an Australian radio presenter, comedian and former television presenter. She currently co-hosts the national drive radio show on the Hit Network, '' Carrie & Tommy'', from 3–6pm weeknights alongside ...

, co-host of

The Project (Australian TV program) ''The Project'' (previously ''The 7PM Project'' from 2009 to 2011) is an Australian news, current affairs, and talk show television panel program airing weeknights and Sunday across Australia on Network 10, produced by Roving Enterprises. Th ...

* John Butler, musician *

Michaelia Cash Michaelia Clare Cash (born 19 July 1970) is an Australian politician currently serving as shadow minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. She previously served as the 38th Attorney-General of Australia from 202 ...

Attorney-General of Australia The attorney-general of Australia (AG), also known as the Commonwealth attorney-general, is the minister of state and chief law officer of the Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing federal legal affairs and public security as the ...

, member of

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

* Natalia Cooper, journalist for ''

Nine News Nine News (stylized as 9News) is a national News agency, news service on the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is an hour-long ''9News'' bulletin at 6:00 pm, with editions produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in TCN, S ...

'' at the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

Sydney *

Priya Cooper Priya Naree Cooper, (born 2 October 1974) is an Australian world champion disabled swimmer, winning nine Paralympic gold medals as well as world records and world championships. She competed in the Australian swimming team at the 1992 Summer P ...

Gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

at the Sydney

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress. In a career spanning over four decades of both List of Judy Davis performances, screen and stage, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses ...

, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress * Jessica De Gouw, actor * Shane Dikolli, accountant * Jon Doust, comedian, writer, novelist and professional speaker *

Elissa Down Elissa Down is an Australian filmmaker, who in 1999 and 2000, was nominated for Young Film-maker of the year at the WA Screen Awards. Her major works are a number of award-winning short films, ''Summer Angst'', ''The Cherry Orchard'', ''Her Ou ...

, film director * Valerie Glover, artist * Claire Hooper, comedian *

Kenneth Maxwell Kenneth Robert Maxwell (born 3 February 1941) is a British historian of Iberia and Latin America, educated at Queen's College, Taunton, Somerset, St John's College, Cambridge University (1960-1963) where he studied under Ronald Robinson, Edward ...

, educationist * Hannah McGlade, academic, human rights advocate and lawyer * Judith Lucy, comedian * Kate Mulvany OAM, actor and playwright * Frances O'Connor, actor * David McComb, lead singer of The Triffids, songwriter and poet * Sheila McHale, former Cabinet minister in the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government or the Western Australian Governmen ...

* Ljiljanna Ravlich, former Cabinet minister in the

* Kate Raynes-Goldie, game designer and social media scholar * Tracy Ryan, poet * Philip Salom, poet * Elaine Smith, actor *

Ben Templesmith Ben Templesmith (born 7 March 1984) is an Australian comic book artist best known for his work in the American comic book industry, most notably the Image Comics series ''Fell (comics), Fell'', with writer Warren Ellis, and IDW Publishing, IDW's ...

, illustrator & author of 30 Days of Night *

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the ...

, author * Siti Rozaimeriyanty, architect and politician * Romaizah Mohd Salleh, Bruneian Minister of Education

Other faculties

*Aboriginal Studies ** Joan Winch, nurse and educator *Business and Law ** Rozaina Adam, member of Parliament in Maldives ** Cody Fern, actor ** Samantha Hall, entrepreneur, environmental and Antarctic researcher ** Brad Hogg, cricketer **

Dean Israelite Dean Israelite (born September 20, 1984) is a South African film director, writer, and producer, best known for directing the found footage film ''Project Almanac'' (2015), the 2017 reboot of ''Power Rangers (film), Power Rangers'', and the 2019 ...

, film director *Health Sciences ** John Worsfold, coach of the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...

and ex-coach of the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

*Science and Engineering ** Jim Geelen, professor ** Samantha Hall, entrepreneur, environmental and Antarctic researcher ** Andrew Long, geophysicist ** Zaneta Mascarenhas, engineer and

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member for

Swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

*Arts and media ** Nguyễn Phương Khánh, Miss Earth 2018 ** Samita Nandy, Canadian sociologist

Academics and staff

Curtin's faculty includes prominent scholars such as environmental scientist Peter Newman, writer Kim Scott and isotope geochemist Kliti Grice. Past prominent faculty members include the postmodernist Niall Lucy, writer Elizabeth Jolley and journalist Robert Duffield. The broadcaster Erica Underwood was the first woman to serve on the main council in 1974 when it was the council of the ''Western Australian Institute of Technology''.

Controversies

Curtin has become active in research and partnerships overseas, particularly in mainland China, and has received funding from major Chinese companies, such as

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...

. It is involved in a number of business, management, and research projects, particularly in supercomputing, where the university participates in a tri-continental array with nodes in Perth,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. The Chinese Premier

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao ( zh, s=温家宝, p=Wēn Jiābǎo; born 15 September 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the 6th premier of China from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behin ...

visited the Woodside-funded hydrocarbon research facility during his visit to Australia in 2005. Funding from major Chinese companies connected to the state have led to concerns that Curtin University has limited academic freedom on certain topics. In 2020, a roof at Curtin University collapsed, killing a 23-year-old construction worker after he fell more than , and leaving two other construction workers injured.